Henke Manufacturing Boosts Productivity: Workforce Training Fills Knowledge Gaps

Henke Manufacturing designs and manufactures snow plows and other attachments. With over one hundred years in the business and around 90 employees, Henke is recognized as an industry leader. The company is based in Leavenworth, Kansas, and sells to city, county and state government agencies through a network of industrial and truck equipment dealers located throughout the United States. A factory expansion and the company's unique product features have contributed to significant growth in recent years, and close proximity to Kansas City’s active trucking hub allows for fast and economical shipping.

We could not be more pleased with our relationship with Kansas City Kansas Community College. They really came in and understood our needs and were hugely instrumental in helping us gear up to acquire new customers and develop and deliver new product offerings.  —Amber Steele, HR Director

Henke was anticipating future growth, and identified a skills gap in the production staff when it came to building equipment. The company reached out to the Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC), part of the MEP National Network, for assistance. MMATC leveraged its subrecipient partnership with Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC) to provide workforce training support to Henke.

After some initial conversations with key staff, KCKCC developed some testing for Henke employees to identify baseline knowledge gaps. Based on the testing, KCKCC determined that production times were down because staff required additional training on how to read and interpret blueprints that came from the engineering department. KCKCC developed and delivered a 15-week training program for Henke employees that the company has been very pleased with. Additionally, KCKCC supplemented Henke's recruiting efforts and trained and placed several new employees in high-wage jobs at the plant.

Results

• Trained 30 staff members through 15-week program
• Created 8 new jobs
• Cost savings of $1,500,000
• Invested $2,500,000 in plant improvements
• Increased/retained sales of $7,500,000

Could your company benefit from assistance with workforce training? Contact your local MEP Center for more information.

 

The Mid-America Manufacturing Technology Center (MAMTC) is the official representative of the  MEP National Network™ in Kansas. The MEP National Network™ is a unique public-private partnership that delivers comprehensive, proven solutions to U.S. manufacturers, fueling growth and advancing U.S. manufacturing.